Steve Stricker shot a 5-under-par 65 on Saturday to pull into a tie for the lead at the Kaulig Companies Championship in Akron, Ohio.
Stricker rebounded from a second-round 73 to record seven birdies against two bogeys on Saturday and join Harrison Frazar (70) at 7-under 203. The 56-year-old Stricker won two majors in May and has four victories on the season.
“It was important that the leaders didn’t go too far away, and I needed a 4-, 5-under round and I did it, I got it,” Stricker said, per the Associated Press. “And they helped me out a little bit by not going low themselves.
The event, which was formerly known as the Bridgestone Senior Players Championship, is the fourth of the PGA Tour Champions’ five major tournaments.
Frazar, whose last professional win came in 2011 at the FedEx St. Jude Classic, is bidding for his first senior major title. The 51-year-old had two birdies and two bogeys on Saturday.
“I feel like I need to have the same mindset I had today,” Frazar said. “Be a little bit more confident off the tees, try to get a little bit more aggressive with the iron shots.”
Stricker and Frazar hold a one-stroke lead over Stewart Cink (70) and a two-shot edge over both South African Ernie Els (70) and South Korean K.J. Choi (69) at Firestone Country Club.
Cink, who had two birdies and three bogeys, is attempting to win a tournament at Firestone Country Club for the second time. The 50-year-old was victorious at the 2004 WGC-NEC Invitational.
Els, a former World No. 1, is attempting to win his first senior major title. He hit a rough patch, however, after carding three bogeys in a four-hole stretch (Nos. 13-16).
Choi recorded four birdies against three bogeys.
Scott Parel (68) remained in sixth place at 4-under, while David Toms (68) resides in seventh at 3-under.
Germany’s Bernhard Langer (70) resides in a six-way tie for eighth place at 1-under with Australians Mark Hensby (69) and Rod Pampling (71), Jerry Kelly (70), Jeff Maggert (68) and Brett Quigley (66).
“Tomorrow should be fun,” Stricker said. “There’s a lot of guys with the opportunity to win and we’re on a great golf course and the weather looks perfect for tomorrow.”
–Field Level Media
